Sumit Nagal Makes History at Monte Carlo Masters with First Main Draw Win

On April 8, Sumit Nagal of India etched his name into the tennis history books by securing a win against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the opening round of the Monte Carlos Masters, marking him as the first Indian man to achieve a main draw win at this prestigious event. This victory also positioned Nagal as the inaugural Indian victor of an ATP Masters 1000 match on clay, setting up a next-round clash with the seventh-seeded Dane Holger Rune, who was the finalist in the previous year.

Ranked 95th and not seeded, Nagal overcame the world number 35, Arnaldi, in a match that lasted two hours and 37 minutes, with scores of 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. This triumph also distinguished Nagal as the third Indian, following in the footsteps of Vijay Amritraj (1977) and Ramesh Krishnan (1982), to compete in the Monte Carlos main draw. Despite falling behind in the initial set, Nagal made a remarkable comeback to secure the match and a place in the history books.

Arnaldi initially led 4-2 in the first set, but Nagal managed to narrow the gap, although Arnaldi clinched the set. In the second set, Nagal quickly took control, eventually winning it and advancing the match to a deciding set.

During the final set, Nagal broke Arnaldi’s serve early on. Despite Arnaldi’s efforts to level the score at 3-3, Nagal broke serve again in the seventh game, maintaining his lead to win the set and the match.

Prior to this, Nagal secured his place in the main draw by defeating Italy’s world number 63 Flavio Cobolli and Argentina’s Facundo Diaz Acosta, marking his second appearance in an ATP Masters 1000 event. Nagal had previously made it to the main draw at Indian Wells as a lucky loser after Rafael Nadal withdrew.

Kicking off the season on a high note, Nagal had an impressive win against the world number 31, Kazakh Alexander Bublik, in the first round of the Australian Open.